Taboo
by Tanba Josav
Summary: Post-TPM. In the aftermath of the Naboo incident an ancient legacy becomes known to a certain Jedi. Star Wars:Highlander crossover.


CROSSOVER: AU, Star Wars/Highlander DISCLAIMER: The concept of Immortals belongs to Gaumont Television and Davis Panzer Productions, Inc. All other familiar names belong to the 'Great Flannelled One'. I'm not making a cent off this, okay?  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Obi-Wan Kenobi stared blankly ahead. It's funny, he thought without the slightest hint of humour, that the galaxy can continue like nothing has happened. Like a great man hasn't died. He was my friend, my mentor. Master, how can I go on? How can I teach Ani without you? The empty funeral pyre burned brightly into the night. The aromatic herbs that were originally intended to hide the smell of charring flesh wafted through the small room as the attending mourners shuffled amongst themselves. The body might have gone, but the reason for them being there still remained the same.  
  
"I don't understand," Obi-Wan Kenobi told Master Yoda. "I saw him die."  
  
"And die he did," Yoda replied. "But one with the Force he became, and gone now is his body. Common this is. Luminous beings are we - "  
  
"- not this crude matter," Obi-Wan finished for him. "I know, but it doesn't seem right. It makes it so much harder to mourn his passing."  
  
"In your heart your master is," Yoda said. "Mourn and respect him there." The little green Jedi moved away to stand near Mace Windu.  
  
"Does he suspect?" Mace asked Yoda as the pair watched the young knight comfort Anakin Skywalker.  
  
"No," Yoda replied. "Knows nothing does he. As it should be."  
  
"This was most unexpected," Windu said.  
  
"Rare this is. But know of it no-one should."  
  
Mace stared into the flames for a minute before looking towards Obi-Wan. "There is no doubt. The one who tested him was a Sith."  
  
"Hmm," Yoda played with the handle of his stick before replying. "Always two there are. No more, no less. A master and an apprentice."  
  
Mace nodded. "But which one was destroyed - the master or the apprentice?" Yoda was unable to answer that question.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adrenaline. pain. worry for the boy... my chest, how it hurts... tears? Crying, Obi-Wan? I'm sorry I must leave you. train the boy... I have faith in you, in both of you... I love you... darkness, death. swirling eddies of light reach out towards me and then - nothing... where is the Force now? Silence for a time, then voices... cool fingers touching my neck...  
  
"So it's true."  
  
Mace? Is that you?  
  
"Take him inside, and inform Master Yoda."  
  
Movement... then silence again.  
  
Grey eyes snapped open in the gloom of early evening. The man looked about and discovered he was in a room, lying on a bed. Somewhere he could hear music being played - a celebration by the sound of it. Qui-Gon Jinn breathed in deeply and was surprised to feel no pain. He reached up to his chest and felt smooth bare skin. He automatically reached for the Force and was met with silence. Where once had been the glorious swirls and undercurrents that encircled every living thing - a sensation that Jinn had felt for as long as he could remember - now there was nothing. With a shiver of fear he sat up.  
  
"Lie still, you should," someone said from the shadows. A small figure shuffled forward to reveal Master Yoda. "A shock this will be."  
  
"Master," Qui-Gon said, his voice breaking from disuse and surprise. He hadn't noticed anyone's presence. "I can't feel the Force."  
  
"Know of this, I do," Yoda continued moving forward until he stood at the base of the bed. He then scrambled upward and settled himself near Qui- Gon's knee. "Explain things I will."  
  
"Obi-Wan?"  
  
"Knighted he is. The boy his apprentice, now."  
  
"I must see them."  
  
"NO."  
  
"No?" Qui-Gon shifted until his back rested against the cool wall and frowned. "How can you say no?"  
  
"Explain things I must. Difficult your situation has become."  
  
"What has happened to me?"  
  
Yoda stroked his chin, thoughtfully. "Died did you."  
  
"Died? Master, I'm here, alive and well."  
  
"So it seems, yes." Yoda said. " On your funeral pyre you were placed. Almost burnt were you."  
  
"Then there must have been some mistake," Qui-Gon said.  
  
"No mistake. Happens this does. Unexpected, though, that it happen to you."  
  
"I demand to see Obi-Wan."  
  
No," Yoda said again. "Dead you are to him. One with the Force now, never again may you see him."  
  
"But why?"  
  
"Regret to say, no longer a Jedi are you." Master Yoda seemed genuinely upset to be saying these words.  
  
"What?" Qui-Gon clenched the bed sheets between his fists. "How can you say that?"  
  
"The truth this is," Yoda replied. "Something else now are you."  
  
"I don't understand," Qui-Gon whispered.  
  
"Hmmm." Yoda settled himself more comfortably on the bed. "Tell you something now, I will. Something not known outside the Jedi Council. Big secret this is. Tell another, you should not."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Only three other times have I told this to another." Yoda closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again compassion, sorrow and maybe even a small tinge of fear clouded his gaze. "Immortal, are you."  
  
"Immortal, but Master that cannot be!"  
  
"No?" Yoda thumped his stick on the bed. "Sabre thrust to the chest you took, hmm, yes? But alive now, here, you are. Explain that you can?"  
  
Qui-Gon unconsciously reached up to touch his chest. Again his fingers strayed over the unblemished skin where the Sith's sabre had plunged into him. "It must have missed essential organs," he began not really knowing who he was trying to convince more, himself or Master Yoda. "I must have fallen into a very deep healing trance, it happens."  
  
"It does, yes," Yoda said. "But saw your body, I did. One with the Force you had become, dead you most definitely were."  
  
"If I was one with the Force, then why can't I feel it anymore?"  
  
"That I know not," Yoda said.  
  
"And the other three you once told?"  
  
"Same they were."  
  
Qui-Gon turned his gaze from the small wrinkled Jedi before him to the wall. Outside the celebration had grown louder and even more exuberant.  
  
Yoda noted his look. "Won the Naboo did," he said. "Free from the Trade Federation they are, thanks to you."  
  
Qui-Gon continued staring out the small window. "Why have I never heard of this before?"  
  
"Hmm," Yoda frowned and looked uncomfortable. "Once long ago, feared we did your kind."  
  
"My kind?"  
  
Yoda nodded and acknowledged the slip of the tongue. "Once long ago discovered one immortal Sith, did we. Though unable to touch the Force, much destruction did she wrought. Until a way to kill her was found."  
  
"I thought you said she was immortal?" Qui-Gon said.  
  
"She was," a new voice entered the conversation. Once again Qui-Gon had failed to notice someone's arrival. He looked across to see Mace Windu standing in the doorway. The tall dark skinned Jedi waited until Qui-Gon had bid him to enter before he walked into the room, closing the door behind him. "The old Jedi realised that conventional weapons were useless against the immortal," Mace said. "But purely by accident, they discovered that beheading was enough to kill her."  
  
"Beheading?" Qui-Gon ran a hand across his throat.  
  
"Hmm," Yoda took up the tale. "Decided it was to create a group of Jedi to hunt down immortals. To destroy them before any damage they could cause."  
  
"They started off with swords and ended up carrying lightsabres," Mace said. "If you had become immortal only nine thousand years ago, old friend, we would have killed you on the spot."  
  
"Why have I never heard of this?" Qui-Gon said. "Why was it never mentioned in our history?"  
  
"Shame," Yoda said. "When first Jedi became immortal and lost the Force, much fear there was."  
  
"It was decreed that all immortals were outside the Force, and therefore must be destroyed. When it happened to us," Mace shrugged. "I guess it was felt that losing the Force was an indication that the ancients had strayed from their path, and if they were to regain their way, they had to destroy all indications that they had stumbled."  
  
"Taboo the subject became," Yoda said. "Much shamed the ancients were."  
  
"I find this hard to believe," Qui-Gon said.  
  
"As did I, my friend," Mace replied, "when I first heard of it."  
  
"If followed the Code had you," Yoda said. "Known this you would. When a member of the Council, you became."  
  
"I still don't understand why this isn't taught," Qui-Gon said. "The Jedi aren't infallible, we've made mistakes before. This should be presented as a lesson in tolerance and humility, not hidden from view."  
  
Mace shrugged. "Old habits - like immortals - are hard to kill."  
  
Qui-Gon nodded to himself. Hadn't the Council proved that already with their instant dismissal of the 'Chosen One', just because the boy was too old? But even they had finally seen the error of their ways.  
  
"I should go," Mace broke into Qui-Gon's thoughts. "I have arrangements to make." He smiled sadly at his old friend. "It was good knowing you, Jinn," he said before bowing slightly to Master Yoda and leaving the room.  
  
Mace Windu's last words hit Qui-Gon hard. It was as if Mace thought he was truly dead. The finality was surprising, and for the first time in decades Qui-Gon didn't have the Force to help centre his mind and balance his emotions. "Arrangements?" he said.  
  
"Transport for you," Yoda said. "As well as food and credits."  
  
"I still don't understand why I must leave, Master. I might not be able to touch the Force but I can still teach the young."  
  
"No!" Yoda stamped his foot in an almost petulant manner. "Discussed this we did. Dead are you and already mourned by the whole Temple. Cannot return alive, forbidden it is."  
  
"But if I did, you could explain about the immortals. Teach the Jedi a part of their history."  
  
"Decided this is. Return you cannot. Shame your apprentice, would you?"  
  
"He would understand."  
  
"Humph." Yoda's eyes narrowed. It seemed that Qui-Gon was going to be as intractable as ever. "New master is he. Uncertain is his position and fragile is his bond with the boy. Disrupt this would you for personal reasons? "  
  
Qui-Gon hung his head. Yoda was right, he couldn't return. His sudden appearance from the dead could hurt Obi-Wan and Ani, it would put them both in a position they could never be able to foresee - let alone understand - it was more than Qui-Gon could handle. Tears started in the corner of his eyes. He'd never see his almost-son again. Qui-Gon absently rubbed his chest. It seemed that some wounds could not be healed as easily as physical ones.  
  
A whirlwind of emotions swept through him. Never was he more aware of how much a Jedi depended on the Force to calm - even suppress - them. Now Qui- Gon found he was as prone to the highs and lows of life as the rest of the galaxy.  
  
"This path the Force has placed you. Walk it you must." Yoda said.  
  
"Where would I go?" Qui-Gon whispered.  
  
"Hmm," Yoda closed his eyes and nodded. He was glad that Qui-Gon had finally acknowledged the facts. He had been worried that this former Jedi would have defied the Council one more time. "The 'Outer Rim' where your face will not be recognised. Never again can you travel to planets where known as a Jedi, you were."  
  
"Never again," Qui-Gon echoed the words. "Never again will I see the Temple gardens," his voice rose in anger, "never again will I meditate in the Room of Fountains, or see the young children grow and learn. Never again will I see Obi-Wan, or Ani or feel the Force!"  
  
Yoda bowed his head. "Know this I do. Sorrow I feel, for all of us. The Force has lost a great asset, and diminished now are we."  
  
Qui-Gon sighed as he rubbed the heels of his palms into his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said. "This is all a bit much for me."  
  
"Yes," Yoda seemed to take the words as an excuse to leave and floated down off the bed. "Rest you must. Tomorrow can wait."  
  
Qui-Gon nodded absently as the small green Jedi Master left the door. "It may wait, but it will still come." He said to himself.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Qui-Gon was buttoning up a much-mended homespun jacket when there was a knock at the door. He caught himself automatically reaching out with the Force to see who it might be and was reminded once again how far he had fallen. "Who is it?" he snapped, angry with himself.  
  
"Mace," came the reply.  
  
"Come on in," Qui-Gon replied standing up. He stamped his feet trying to adjust to the new boots. They pinched his toes slightly but he knew from past experience that they would stretch and mold themselves quickly to become more comfortable.  
  
"Well don't you look different," Mace said, taking in the new look as he walked into the room.  
  
Qui-Gon's traditional Jedi garb was long gone. Now he wore navy blue trousers and a cream shirt under the worn gray jacket. His long hair was pulled back in a braid, and he had shaved off his beard and moustache.  
  
"When was the last time your chin saw the light of day?" Mace wondered.  
  
Qui-Gon fingered the bare flesh. "This is just until I leave the sector," he said. "Then I'm growing it back."  
  
"Glad to hear it," Mace said. "Because you look ridiculous without it."  
  
"Thanks." Qui-Gon noted that his friend was carrying a long parcel. "What's that?"  
  
"Something for later."  
  
"Is the transport ready?"  
  
The other Jedi had left Naboo two days ago, and it was now deemed safe for Qui-Gon to leave on his journey.  
  
"Everything's set," Mace said. He indicated the large canvas bag that contained the few possessions Qui-Gon had left. "Are you ready?"  
  
"Do I have a choice?"  
  
"Not really," Mace said. "I really am sorry this happened to you, Jinn."  
  
"Sorry enough to overturn Yoda and the entire Council?" he noted Mace's grimace. "I didn't think so."  
  
"Changes occur slowly, you know that," Mace replied. "Maybe in time policies will reflect your wishes. Not in my lifetime, I'm sure, but barring beheading, they should in yours."  
  
"Small comfort, Mace. Small comfort."  
  
Mace nodded. "I know. I'll see you to your ship."  
  
Qui-Gon picked up the bag and slung it over one shoulder. He then turned and grabbed a large floppy hat and placed it on his head. He pulled the brim down over his eyes, just in case the former Jedi ran into any Nubians that might recognise him. A large blue feather bobbed jauntily from the hat's band.  
  
Qui-Gon waited for Mace's reaction. "Don't start," he said. "It's going just as soon as I leave this place."  
  
"Oh, I don't know," Mace smiled. "It brings out the blue in your eyes."  
  
Qui-Gon just shook his head and, without a backward glance, left the room and his former life.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Mace and Qui-Gon stood near a small public transport shuttle as the last of the passengers walked up the ramp.  
  
"Well," Qui-Gon said. "I guess this is goodbye."  
  
"This will take you to Alderaan. From there you can arrange a ship to take you wherever you want to go."  
  
Qui-Gon nodded as he looked up into the dark depths of the ship. The faint humming of the engines echoed across the empty hanger as the crew completed their pre-flight checklists.  
  
"I'm sorry this had to happen," Mace said. "I'll keep an eye out on young Kenobi and his apprentice for you."  
  
"Thank you," Qui-Gon said quietly. "For everything."  
  
Mace just nodded. "Listen there is one more thing." He handed over the cloth wrapped package that he had been carrying.  
  
"What is it?" Qui-Gon asked.  
  
"Just call it a present for your new career."  
  
Qui-Gon Jinn unwrapped the parcel to reveal a sword. It was a fine piece of workmanship, about three feet long, and only an inch wide. It was slightly curved with a plain hilt. There was nothing fancy about its design or the leather scabbard that it rested upon - it was a common blade for a common swordsman. Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow and looked quizzically at Mace.  
  
"From what we know about immortals," Mace explained. "They have a tendency to remove each other's heads. I thought this might come in handy since you don't have your sabre anymore."  
  
Qui-Gon re-wrapped the sword. "Lets hope it doesn't come to that," he said.  
  
"Agreed."  
  
"Anything else I should know?"  
  
"Well, we believe that the immortals have a creed of their own."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"'There can be only one'." Mace said.  
  
"Do you know what it means?"  
  
"No, but I hope you can follow it better than you did ours."  
  
Qui-Gon reached out and clasped Mace Windu's arms. "I'll do my best."  
  
"Goodbye, old friend." Mace returned the gesture before moving away.  
  
Qui-Gon Jinn, former Jedi Knight and now immortal, walked up the ramp and into the shuttle.  
  
Mace walked away from the ship to a safe distance and turned to watch it leave. With a screaming of engines the ponderous transport lifted off the ground and began to move away. Mace lifted his hand at the departing vessel that was taking his friend away to adventures and lives unknown. "Goodbye, Jinn," he whispered. "May the Force be with you, always." 


End file.
